Storm Clouds over Killington Peak.
White stuff in the forecast! 

It's winter time in Killington. I should be out skiing!

The good news for Mary and I this Presidents Holiday week is that the inn has been pretty busy. The bad news is that we have not had an opportunity to get up on the hill for a few runs down the mountain. And I miss it.

Oh sure....We have been getting outside for walks around the block, or to move snow around the inn with various contraptions. But it is not the same. There is a certain exhilaration that occurs when you are cruising down the mountain that is not satisfied by just being outside in the cold mountain air. Anyone who has more than casually strapped skis or a board on their legs knows what I am talking about.

Of course, I can hope that the clipper coming thru tonight would dump at least 6 inches of fluff on us. Then I could declare tomorrow a powder day and go to the hill without guilt. We can all hope! Let it snow!

In the last 24 hours, more information is starting to filter out concerning the sale of Killington by the American Skiing Company (ASC) to SP Land LLC. The Rutland Herald has several good background articles on the sale and on Killington and Pico published in todays paper. The Salt Lake City Tribune has also published an article from a Utah perspective. Around town, of course, it is basically the only thing people are talking about. Rumor and speculation still abounds, so I think a little local perspective is in order.

First --- what we know...

1. On or before April 30th, ASC intends to sell the remaining assets of Killington and Pico Ski Resorts to SP Land LLC for $83.5M plus debt transfer.
2. SP Land LLC is a privately held corporation that is an affiliate of SKI Partners which is an affiliate of E2M Partners. All are private equity companies. There will be little further public comment from any of them unless they want to make information available.
3. SP LAND LLC moved it's president, Steve Selbo, to Vermont in 2004 as part of the original acquisition of land from ASC in a previous ASC restructuring. Mr Selbo has been investing time in the community since then working with ASC in an attempt to reach agreement to proceed with developing those properties.
4. Developments discussed publicly have included a Ski Village at the base of Killington, and various condominium, hotel, and private home developments. To date, no development has taken place. At this point, Act 250 permits have not been submitted to the state of Vermont.
5. While many have questioned the $83.5M price for the Killington and Pico Resorts, one must remember the original $58.5M investment by SP Land. That brings the total value to ~$142M, not including any SP Land operating expenses since 2004, for what most people call the Killington and Pico Resorts.
6. ASC has publicly stated that they will operate Killington to high standards through the close of the purchase agreement on or before April 30, 2007.
7. While not mentioned in the ASC filing to the SEC, in public statements ASC has made it known that Powdr Corp, a privately held corporation, will be forming a partnership with SP Land to operate the Killington and Pico Ski Resorts.

What we don't know...
1. After the closing date, how will the Killington and Pico resorts be operated?
2. What are the equity splits, if any, between SP Land and Powdr Corp? In other words, how much skin is in the game for each?
3. How much will be invested in the current ski infrastructure to improve the Killington/Pico ski experience? What will be the rate of that investment?
4. How will Killington and Pico be marketed to the public in the future?
5. When will the overall plan to develop Real Estate around the resort be publicly presented?
6. When will Act 250 permits be submitted to the state of Vermont?

Of course, what we don't know, we may never really know as all of the companies that will be involved in the future of Killington and Pico are private firms. However, while the specific details may not be completely transparent, the Killington and Pico resorts are very public places. Under the new owners, it will be very easy to determine their level of investment in the community, just as in the last few months it has been very easy to understand that ASC has been un-investing in the community. Killington is long overdue for a turn around. It will be fun to live here while it is all happening.

American Skiing Company announced the sale of the Killington and Pico Ski Resorts, plus all other properties in the Killington area including the Wobbly Barn to SP Land Company for $83.5M. The deal, which also includes the assumption of $5M in debt by SP Land is set to close by April 30. Public details of the transaction have been posted with the Securities and Exchange Commission and can be viewed in the SEC's Edgar database.

SP Land is an LLC who majority owner is Eiger Investments. SP Land was formed in 2004 to acquire the development rights to real estate in the Killington area to develop a Village and other properties at the base of Killington. It acquired the real estate, valued at $58.5M from American Skiing Company during a financial restructuring in May 2004. At the time, it was reported that Killington LTD, the operating company for the Killington Resort wholly owned at the time by ASC, held a 25% stake in SP Land.

While no other information on the sale has been provided publicly, we have been receiving calls from friends who work at the resort who have participated in meetings this morning to announce the transaction. Previously, it was rumored that Powdr Corp of Park City Utah would be purchasing Killington from ASC. While Powdr Corp is absent from any of the public pronouncements, employees are being told in some of the meetings that Powdr Corp will be brought in by SP Land to help operate the resort, after completion of the transaction in April.

It should be an interesting spring. Let it snow!

3:45 PM Update - Letter from B.J. Fair CEO of ASC to ASC Employees
with more information on sale and role of Powdr Corp

To: All ASC Employees
From: B.J. Fair
Date: 2/20/07
Re: Sale of Killington and Pico

It is with mixed emotions that I inform you that we have entered into a definitive agreement to sell the Killington and Pico resorts. We had hoped to announce this transaction simultaneously with Mount Snow and Attitash, however extended negotiations prevented us from doing so.

As was the case with our other recently announced sales, this decision was not made in haste nor ever taken lightly. Since our real estate restructuring in 2004, it became apparent that future real estate development at Killington and the resort operations would be best controlled by a single owner. Our ongoing discussions with SP Land and their current interest in the real estate at Killington led to their purchase of the Killington and Pico resorts for $83.5 million, plus $2 million of capital leases as well as other liabilities.

Though challenging from a personal and professional perspective, it is in the company's best interest to realize the opportunities created by the performance of our resorts and the current favorable market conditions. While parting with the Killington and Pico teams will be difficult for many of us, the value created for the company's stakeholders is tremendous and will leave us with substantial liquidity to focus on our remaining operations in Maine and Utah. As I wrote to you on Friday, the sale of five of our resorts will have a significant impact on our organization. I want to reiterate that we are aware of these impacts, and we will be meeting with employees as soon as possible to discuss these changes.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of April. Concurrent with the closing, SP Land and Powdr Corp. will have formed a new venture to operate Killington and Pico. Powdr Corp., based in Park City, UT, is an established operator of six winter resorts in the western U.S. Prior to the close of the sale, Killington and Pico and all of our other resorts will continue to operate under the normal course of business without interruption. We will work with the SP Land and Powdr teams during this period to facilitate a smooth transition at Killington and Pico.

With winter a bit late in arriving in the East, many guests will be arriving for the first time at our resorts in the coming days. Our guests have come to expect a very high standard of each of our resorts, and we will continue to offer the same service that has become of hallmark of ASC. Again, I am counting on your professionalism, consideration and support as we work through this transition period. Thank you.

B.J. Fair
President and CEO

Killington Peak 

As I look out my office window, I see beautify snow capped mountains with a bright blue cloudless sky. It looks warm and inviting. What a total fake out!

Stepping outside to take the snow stake picture this morning, I was greeted with -2 degrees and a very blustery wind. When I drove up to the mountain to take a picture of Killington peak, I encountered more of the same. Inn guests and friends did go out this morning for a few runs, but most made a hasty retreat to the various Killington base lodges, or their favorite mid day watering hole. All of this is supposed to pass this evening as a clipper system moves through the area. Of course, while it will get warmer for tomorrow, snow and clouds will return, replacing todays bright sunshine. Let it snow!

Snow Falling at Birch Ridge 

Presidents holiday weekend is in full swing at Killington with light snow continuing to drape the area in a blanket of white.

While I have not had the opportunity to get out on the slopes in the last 2 days, my friends are reporting that once the mountain worked through wind delays on Saturday, that skiing and riding were fantastic. Of course, because of the wind, some of the conditions were variable. Waist deep powder is being reported from most of the less travelled woods trails and various secret stashes. Superstar on the other hand has been scoured clean by the wind so in comparison to most of the other trails it is skiing a little slick. Devils Fiddle and Vertigo and Ovation were all reported open with good coverage. Overall, it should be a great holiday week for skiing and riding at Killington. Let it snow!

Ruts and Bagel at the top the
Little Pico Chair. Notice the wind blown snow. 

Today was a study in contrasts in the Killington area. On the one hand, ASC has sold another resort, and it is not Killington. On the other hand, the Valentines day blizzard is still with us, and there is a lot of untracked powder in it's wake.

We woke up today to the news that the American Skiing Corporation has sold 2 New England Resorts. No, the resorts were not Killington and Pico, but Mount Snow in Vermont, and Attitash in New Hampshire. The sales price is approximately $73.5M. if you want more information on the sale you can find ASC's release on the Security and Exchange Commissions website. How this impacts the rumored sale of Killington is anyone's guess.

Now back to Skiing and Riding... Almost!

Because of the Valentines day storm, some friends of mine from our old ski house decided to come to Killington a day early. Usually they ski the weekends. But they decided to come up and ski Friday to try to bag some fresh powder. Because of very high winds, most lifts at both Killington and Pico were not operating on Thursday, leaving the promise of untracked powder. Because of lighter crowds, we decided today we would head out to Pico, and run the trails off the Summit Express Quad from the top of Pico Peak. Fresh, untracked powder was waiting...and it still is!

We arrived at Pico to find that not only would we not be skiing the summit, but that only 3 chairs were operating; the Little Pico Triple, the Golden Express Quad, and the Bonanza Double. We basically had 1/3rd of a mountain to ski... and we covered it all.

Off the Little Pico Triple, A slope was very wind blown and boney in places with some exposed rock. B slope had some nice coverage, but it too was wind blown. There was a 30 MPH or so wind at the top of Little Pico which was packing the snow down pretty good. I was on my powder ski's, some Volkl Vertigo's. They are about 6 inches wide with no side cut, great for skiing deep stuff but a lot of work in small wind blown bumps... so it goes.

The terrain off the Golden Express Quad was in nice shape. The best run was probably Gold Rush. It was a toss up on Swinger and Lower Pike as you neared to bottom. All of the trails had some nice powder on the edges, if you did not mind knocking some tree branches out of the way. Just to tease us, the Summit Express Quad was running ever so slowly. The lift attendants were cleaning it off to get it ready for the weekend. If you are at Pico early on Saturday... remember.. fresh powder at the summit!

We stayed out about 3 hours this morning at Pico. When I got back to the inn, I had a message that Bill B and Howie had called around 9:30 requesting a breakfast meeting at Johnny Boy's. It appears that while I was staring at a closed Summit Express Quad at Pico, they were staring at no operating lifts at Killington. They did not even put their boots on at the Killington Base Lodge before heading out for breakfast. So I guess Pico was the right choice this morning after all! Let it snow!

Merisa on Birch Ridge 

In over 2 years since the snow stake has been in position at the inn, the previous record high was 13 3/4 inches, set on December 20, 2005. Yesterdays storm blew that away. The reading at the snow stake this morning was 27 1/2 inches. Total snow fall for yesterdays storm was 20 inches at the inn as of 10 AM this morning. I did take a reading at Midnight last night. The stake registered 34 inches, which would have yielded a 27 inch snow fall. However, over night, the light fluffy powder has been settling and the wind has also been compacting the surface. Since I take the readings in the morning, we will stick with a 20 inch snowfall; the highest snow fall we have had in 3 years no matter how you measure it.

Unfortunately, snow fall that large is not good for my skiing. It results in too much work around the inn. Combining yesterday and today, I have been outside with the snow blower for over 10 hours taking care of the property. Of course... I am not complaining.... after all I asked for this to happen. No matter, our staff has had the opportunity to get out. Todays picture is of Merisa, one of our servers, who is also a ski instructor, taking a few turns on the hill in front of the inn. She saw this hill of untracked powder and she could not resist. Now if we could only have a little more snow! Let it Snow!